Pasture access for dairy cows provides significant welfare benefits through natural behaviour expression, exercise and environmental enrichment compared to year-round housed systems.
Pasture access provides welfare benefits that indoor systems cannot fully replicate - the choice of lying surface, the ability to graze continuously, fresh air and the social dynamics of natural herd movement. Cows voluntarily show play behaviours on first turnout after winter housing, indicating positive emotional states associated with pasture access. Supporting pasture-based dairy labelling helps consumers reward the farmers providing these higher welfare conditions.